Study Also Highlights Data Security Risks and Lack of Standards Across the Web
San Francisco, CA – Krux (KruxDigital.com), the technology leader in audience data control solutions, released research findings (http://bit.ly/kruxtags) on tag proliferation and its implications for web performance and website data security. The report reviews the state of the market; highlighting the business improvement opportunities for website operators; and challenging the industry to seek better standards for measuring web performance.
Using proprietary cloud-based data scanning techniques, Krux sampled a representative set of URLs from more than forty top US consumer-oriented websites throughout October 2011. From that sample, the company calculated the number and types of JavaScript tags observed across web pages, measured typical page load times against both the Content Ready and On Load markers, and evaluated the types of tags present and their relative contribution to overall page latency and data leakage.
The research surfaced five key findings:
1. Consumer web operators are suffering from ‘tag bloat,’ with an average of 25 tags per page across the sample, peaking at a staggering 121 tags.
2. Tag proliferation erodes web performance, Krux observed significantly delayed page load times as a result of web operators’ expanding use of tags to enrich their websites.
3. Third-party tags pose serious risks to website operator data security, with an average of nearly 30 data collection events per page view (with an ‘event’ defined as anytime a cookie is set, referenced, or modified on a consumer’s browser).
4. Tag count and page latency are only loosely correlated, indicating a marked lack of standardization when it comes to the management, prioritization, and execution of tags in support of page performance optimization. Website operators are crying out for new, intelligent approaches to tag management.
5. The industry as a whole requires new metrics for measuring web performance and its connection to tags.
Krux undertook this study to provide clearer insight into tagging, latency, and data security challenges facing the industry. The research reflected some surprising insights. The analysis uncovered sites burdened by as many as 120 tags, consumers suffering through load times nearing 15 seconds, and nearly a third of data collection being conducted by parties who may be intentionally obfuscating their sources and purposes.
The report offers the Krux perspective on the role tags play across today’s consumer web; and an analysis of tag proliferation and its implications for web performance and data security. It also explores best practice considerations for website operators as they tackle the tagging conundrum. And finally, in the appendix, the company issues a call to action for the industry to anchor on a new set of standards for gauging web performance.
“Recent technology advances give web operators the tools they need to regain control, grow their business, and ensure the safer, faster, and smarter web experiences consumers have come to expect,” said Tom Chavez, Krux co-founder and CEO. ”But technology is only part of the answer. We issue a challenge to the industry — for all parties to raise the bar on transparency, data security, and web measurement standards overall.”
One such solution, Krux SuperTag, acts as an ‘ad server for JavaScript’. It provides publishers with full tag lifecycle management; including workflow, flighting, pacing, and targeting – striking the right balance of control over tagging between AdOps pros and their IT counterparts. Further, it serves as a secure gateway through which an operator can manage all of its data transactions. This ensures that their trusted partners have access to the right data at the right times – and only then. Most importantly, it can deliver page load improvements in excess of 30% through sophisticated tag parallelization, data throttling, and real-time decision making to balance user experience and revenue opportunity.
As Mr. Chavez summed it up, “Excessive page latency equals revenue loss, and unfettered access to websites by third-parties leads to significant opportunity cost from data leakage and theft. Website operators need to ensure optimal web experiences for consumers and to protect the precious media and data assets on which their businesses were built. Tag management is only part of the solution, but it’s likely one of single the best places to start.”
For more information and the complete research report, please visit www.kruxdigital.com.
About Krux Digital
Founded in 2010, Krux is building data fabric for the consumer web. The company’s platform helps large and small websites control, energize, and responsibly monetize consumer data across screens and sources. With Krux, websites become more secure, more intelligent conduits of consumer interests, behaviors, and intent. With Krux, consumers gain confidence that their favorite websites are operating under the plain light of day. More than twenty leading publishers and website operators in the US and Europe have adopted Krux technology. Find out more at www.kruxdigital.com.
